Battlestar Galactica is not your average sci-fi show. There are no aliens who speak different languages and no prosthetics. Instead it focuses on real life issues that plague the human soul. The character that most epitomizes that is Dr. Gaius Baltar. He is perceived as a pompous, selfish character at the start of season one. He’s the kind of guy who sells out the human race, which he unknowingly does to a mechanical race known as the Cylon’s. Yet, the greatest theme that transpires throughout the show is a very human one- that people are flawed and through their flaws, they change. Indeed at the close of the last episode, the Gaius you encounter is not the same man from four seasons prior. Each persona from the seasons adds depth and character to Baltar and the situations he encounters (although they are in space) makes him relatable. This is what makes him my favorite character.
We first meet Dr. Gaius Baltar on the deck of the political starship The Colonial One seemingly dreaming out loud. He is fantasizing about a beautiful Cylon, Six- a model-esque blonde woman in a skimpy red dress with whom he is in love. They share an intimate moment in a beautiful condo on the side of a mountain where a picturesque landscape sets a peaceful backdrop. His lover Six whispers to him “You must believe in something” to which he replies “I believe in a world I can and do understand. A rational universe explained through rational means.” This is ironic since moments later; he opens his eyes to the desolate situation of the present. The human race has diminished to a population of 40,000 fleeing through the universe after their home planet was nuked by their rebellious creations- the Cylons. Yet, as Baltar sits amongst the fearful faces of his fellow humans he is calm, living in this fantasy world which is never identified as either memory or delusion. Therefore regardless of what it is, Gaius Baltar, a famed brilliant scientist, is selfishly daydreaming sexual...